Florida State assistant coaches named among nation's top recruiters

Rivals.com and 247Sports.com honors three Seminoles assistants

February 13, 2013|By Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — Despite six rocky weeks on the recruiting trail that were defined by staff turnover, Florida State landed a recruiting class last week that was widely considered one of the nation's top 10. According to two recruiting services, three FSU assistant coaches played a big role in the team's success.

Rivals.com and 247Sports.com listed FSU's Jeremy Pruitt, Odell Haggins and Lawrence Dawsey among the country's best recruiters. Rivals.com listed Pruitt and Haggins in its top 25 earlier this week. Pruitt and Dawsey made 247Sports.com's top 50.

Haggins and Dawsey are two of three holdovers from a staff that saw six coaches leave following the Seminoles' Orange Bowl appearance. Pruitt, who started at FSU in the middle January, is one of the five newcomers coach Jimbo Fisher has hired.

Fisher told reporters last week that he will be interviewing candidates this week for the sixth and final assistant coaches' vacancy.

The Seminoles finished with such a strong ranking after landing five-star prospects Matthew Thomas and Jalen Ramsey late in the recruiting process. Four-star DT Keith Bryant also was a late addition to the class.

Each of the three assistant coaches had some role in swinging those recruits over to FSU.

Most notably, Pruitt brought Ramsey and talented DE DeMarcus Walker and CB Marquez White with him from Alabama, where he served as defensive backs coach before being named FSU's defensive coordinator in late December. Haggins scouted Bryant, among others.